5 Tips To Help Improve Your BJJ Game!

Improving your BJJ game isn’t always as easy as just showing up to class and it’s something we all want to do. Sometimes we need a game plan to expand our game in order to avoid the dreaded “plateau”. What are some ways to exponentially increase our gains so we can beat the plateau and move ahead of others?

Tip #1. Drilling

It may seem obvious to everyone, but it’s like eating your vegetables. You know it’s good for you, but do you do it like you should? Drilling is one of the reasons why people become top guys such as: Marcelo Garcia, Rodolfo Vieira, Marcus Buchecha, Andre Galvo, the Mendes brothers Keenan Cornelius, and the greats of history such as Royce Gracie. Anyone one of the top guys, regardless of the sport, will tell you that drilling is a key component to improving your game right now. It’s also something that can be easily implemented After class or during open mat time find a partner or even a drilling dummy with a gi and begin drilling reps. Pick a move you’re not particularly great at, and then start drilling. Getting into the 100’s is when you know you’ve gotten serious about your game.

“This is what drilling feels like to most of us”

Tip #2. Goal Setting

What is goal setting? “Goal setting involves establishing specific, measurable and time-targeted objectives.” Sounds simple right? For those of us practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, most of us will probably say no. How many times in class or during open mat do you say in your mind, today I’m going to pass the guard with the X pass 10 times today before I do anything else. Have you ever thought, my mount control is lacking, I’m going to attain mount and hold it for 1 minute of every roll for the next week. This works most effectively against less experienced and less skilled opponents. Instead of dominating them, try the goal setting approach. Sounds simple enough but for most, this is not something people do. Many revert to the “safe zone” which we usually call our “A game” so we don’t suffer the humiliation of losing points or getting submitted. A lot of us talk about no ego, but is that really the case for you?

“Mitsuyo Maeda definitely took this approach by going beyond just Judo”

Tip #3. Cross Training

Another obvious tip right? Again, much like tip #1, how often do you really go out of your way to cross train with new training partners at other academies? Training with the same partners can stifle your game, limiting you in many ways. Everyone begins to learn each other’s games and therefore it’s the equivalent of playing a video game countless times and knowing every outcome, there are no surprises or new challenges. Get into the BJJ community, meet new people, cross train and meet those new challenges. Going to a new academy earns you new experiences that can help you expand your game immediately. It also helps show what parts of your game works, what needs work, and what does not work. Get out there and start gym hopping!

“Whenever you travel, pack a gi and check out foreign schools. BJJ training is a worldwide language spoken between our community”

And Tips #4 and #5 will be on our next blog.

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